Shrub · Rutaceae
Japanese Skimmia
Skimmia japonica
Glossy dark evergreen leaves, fragrant white spring flowers, and bright red berries through winter.
Partial shade
Every 5–10 days
USDA 6–8
2–7 ft · 0.6–2.1 m
Overview
Japanese skimmia holds its color close and constant: glossy, dark green leaves that keep their shine straight through the year, catching what little light reaches a shaded corner. It is a slow-growing evergreen shrub from the woodlands of Japan and China, and its place in the citrus family shows up as a spicy scent lifting off the spring flowers. Above the foliage, tight clusters of red buds sit through the cold months, small hard knots of color against the deep green.
Look closely and the plants divide into two kinds, male and female, and the difference is written in what they carry. The males open the fuller heads of small white flowers, while only the females ripen the round, bright red berries that stud the branches into winter. A female sets that fruit only with a male close enough to pollinate it, so the two grow side by side, one loaded with bloom, the other with berry.
The overall shape is low and rounded, a dense mound of evergreen leaves that stays furnished all year. Its color depends on getting the roots right: acidic, moist soil and steady shade. Out of those conditions the leaves bleach pale or yellow and the gloss goes flat, but in them the foliage stays deep and even, a solid green backdrop the buds and berries can play against.
Care
The short version: part to full shade, acidic and humus-rich soil kept evenly moist, and a male plant nearby so the females can color up with berries.
Light
Skimmia wants part to full shade, and direct sun scorches the glossy leaves, dulling and browning them. Dappled light, or morning sun softened by afternoon shade, keeps the foliage deep and even. Deep shade holds the leaf color too, though fewer flower clusters form where the light is lowest.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist but well drained, watering every 5 to 10 days and more often in a heat wave, so the leaves stay firm and glossy rather than dull. Its water needs sit in the middle, and it will not stand in wet ground. The one thing to avoid is letting the root zone dry out fully when it is hot.
Soil
Set skimmia in moist, humus-rich, acidic soil that drains freely, which is what keeps the leaves a deep, unbroken green. Hold the pH at 5.0 to 6.5, on the acid side, with plenty of organic matter mixed in. When the soil turns alkaline it locks up iron, and the color drains from the leaves to yellow.
Temperature
This is a hardy shrub that takes the cold without marking the foliage, from -9°F (-23°C) at the low end to about 86°F (30°C) at the high. Hot, dry heat does more visible damage than frost, scorching and dulling the leaf surface. Shade keeps that surface deep and glossy.
Humidity
Plain outdoor air keeps skimmia in good color, so no set humidity level applies. Dry heat is the real threat, since it stresses the plant and lets spider mites bronze and stipple the leaves. Steady soil moisture holds the foliage firm far better than damp air would.
Feeding
Feed in spring with a balanced or acid-forming ericaceous fertilizer made for acid-loving shrubs, which keeps the leaf color deep. Once a season suits this slow grower. The acidic feed also holds the soil where iron stays available, so the green does not fade.
Pruning
Skimmia keeps its dense, rounded outline with almost no cutting. A light shaping after flowering takes out any damaged or straying stems that break the form. Left alone, the mound of glossy leaves fills back in on its own.
Repotting
A potted skimmia moves up every 2 to 3 years into a slightly larger pot of fresh acidic mix, which keeps the foliage from thinning. Roots circling the pot or slipping through the drainage holes give it away, as does soil that dries out faster than before.
Size & spacing
A mature shrub stands 2 to 7 feet (61 to 213 cm) tall and spreads wider than high at 3 to 5 feet (91 to 152 cm), building that low, rounded mound. Give it the room and the dense dome of glossy leaves fills out evenly on every side.
When to plant
Skimmia moves slowly through its year, and each stage brings a change to look at. Set new plants out in spring or fall while the soil turns easily. From late winter into spring the fragrant flowers open, and on the female plants the berries flush red in fall and stay glossy on the branches all through winter.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring or fall
- Harvest: Fragrant flowers late winter to spring (around April); red berries on female plants ripen in fall and persist through winter
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 6–8
Temperature: down to -23°C
Troubleshooting
A healthy skimmia reads at a glance: deep, even, glossy green leaves over acidic, shaded soil. When that surface changes, whether it pales, speckles, or films over, the leaf is showing either a poor site or a sap-sucking pest. Look closely at the color and texture of the foliage below, then match what you see to trace the cause.
Yellowed leaf blades between deep green veins
The tell is a leaf gone pale yellow while the fine veins stay a clear green, a pattern called interveinal chlorosis. It comes from soil too alkaline for the roots to take up iron, made worse by poor drainage. Drop the pH with elemental sulfur, feed chelated iron, and mulch with acidic organic matter, and the new leaves come back deep green.
Fix:
- Lower soil pH with elemental sulfur or acidifying amendments
- Apply chelated iron and mulch with acidic organic matter
- Improve drainage
Tiny pale speckles and silky webbing on the leaf undersides
A fine bronze speckling dulls the leaf surface, and thin webbing threads the undersides, the mark of spider mites that build up in hot, dry weather. Wash the leaves with a hard spray of water to strip the mites off, then treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Steady water and shade keep the foliage from bronzing again.
Fix:
- Spray foliage with water to dislodge mites
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Improve air humidity and avoid drought stress
Glazed sticky leaves, waxy lumps on the stems, and a black sooty crust
The leaves turn sticky and a black film of sooty mold darkens them, while the stems carry raised waxy bumps, the sign of scale, or clusters of soft-bodied aphids on the new growth. Cut out the worst-crusted stems first. Then smother the scale with horticultural oil and rinse the aphids off with insecticidal soap.
Fix:
- Prune out heavily infested stems
- Apply horticultural oil to smother scale
- Use insecticidal soap for aphids
Bleached, browned blotches on the sun-facing leaves
On a shade plant like skimmia, brown or bleached patches mark the leaves that catch direct sun, the exposed surfaces going pale and crisp while the shaded ones stay deep green. Move it into shade, or give it morning sun with afternoon shade, so the leaf color holds. A mulch layer eases the drought that comes with the scorch.
Fix:
- Provide part to full shade or morning sun with afternoon shade
- Transplant to a shadier site if needed
- Mulch and water to reduce stress
Toxicity
The most eye-catching part of this plant is also the most dangerous. Those round, bright red berries are packed with alkaloids called skimmianine, and the leaves carry them too, along with glycosides. The glossy fruit is the real hazard because its color pulls the eye and the hand. Swallowing the berries brings on vomiting and drooling, and a large amount can reach the heart and nerves, so keep them away from children, pets, and grazing animals.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Toxic
The glossy leaves and red berries hold skimmianine, so a cat that mouths them starts to drool and vomit. A large enough bite can drive the heartbeat fast or unsteady.
Dogs Toxic
A dog that bites the dark leaves or the red berries soon drools and vomits. Enough of it lets the alkaloids reach the heart and nerves.
Horses Toxic
A horse that grazes the foliage or the fruit is left drooling, off its feed, and queasy, with heart and nervous effects after a large amount.
Rabbits Toxic
The alkaloids are not safe for a small grazer, and even a little of the leaf or berry sets off drooling and a churning gut, so keep skimmia out of reach.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, sheep, and goats do badly on the leaves and berries, showing salivation and digestive upset that can tip into heart and nervous effects after a heavy feed.
Birds Toxic
The round red berries read as easy food, but the skimmianine inside is poisonous, and a bird that swallows the fruit can sicken, so it is best treated as off limits.
People Caution
No part of the plant is food, and the glossy red berries are the real hazard for a curious child. Swallowing them brings nausea and an upset stomach, with heart effects possible after a large amount.
Keep berries away from children and pets; wash hands after handling.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
The named skimmias differ most in what they show off, the color of the buds, the weight of the berries, or the scent of the flowers. Choosing comes down to which of those you want to see up close: flowers, berries, or both.
Rubella
A male clone grown for its deep red flower buds that hold their color right through winter before opening into fragrant white flowers, though the branches never carry berries.
Nymans
A female cultivar hung with heavy crops of large, glossy red berries wherever a male grows near enough to pollinate it.
Fragrans
A male cultivar valued for the strong scent rising off its white flower panicles in spring.
Companions
Skimmia thrives next to other shade-loving, acid-soil plants that ask for the same conditions, which makes it an easy fit in a woodland border.
Plant near
Rhododendron: Shares the same acidic soil and part-shade conditions.
Camellia: Both are shade-tolerant broadleaf evergreens that thrive in acidic, moist, well-drained soil.
Hosta: Pairs well as a shade-garden understory companion with similar moisture needs.
How to propagate
More skimmia comes from cuttings or seed, and cuttings are the surer path, since a rooted cutting repeats the parent exactly, right down to its sex and its coloring.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Late summer to fall · Several weeks to a few months to root
Cuttings are the dependable way to copy the plant, coloring and all. Take semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer or fall, firm and half-ripened, and root them under humidity over several weeks to a few months. A cutting carries the parent's sex, so both a male and a female are still needed nearby before any red berries form.
SeedModerate
Fall, from ripe berries · Germination can be slow and seedlings take years to mature
Seed cleaned from the ripe red berries can be sown in fall, but the results come slowly and unevenly. Germination drags, the seedlings take years to reach flowering size, and they vary from plant to plant, so a seedling's sex, and whether it will ever redden with fruit, stays hidden until it first blooms.
Myths
Any skimmia standing alone will hang itself with red berries.
Skimmia is mostly dioecious, so a plant is either male or female, and only the female branches redden with fruit. A male has to grow nearby to pollinate them, at about one male to six females for a full set of berries, so a lone plant or a single male stays green and berryless. The red only appears where the sexes grow together.